Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Values!!

A hairstylist I knew needed someone to assist her in her new saloon. She asked me if I knew someone. Now I know this kid who is about 18 who used to work at my local barbershop. The boy is from some remote village in Andhra and had come to the city 3-4 years ago. I suggested this boy to her and made it clear that this boy most probably has minimal education and may not be able to cater to her foreign clientele, Also he needs to be trained in Hair styling, If she is willing to do all that I shall speak to him.
The Reason why I recommended him was because he was always well mannered, someone who is willing to lean and a fast learner at that. He is humble, and despite his poverty and other related issues, always has an optimistic smile on his face. Its a pleasure for a customer when he meets someone like this. But most of all this boy helps his colleague in the shop a lot, his colleague has lost both his legs to polio,yet that man strives to make a living on his own and this boy joined him to help. I always felt that he had something inherently good about him.
But money can change all that. Here the boy would be earning a maximum of 1000-2000 Rs a month. The stylist was more than willing to teach him and said he would be paid a handsome salary of 7-8 thousand( almost 4 times his present salary). In addition to the salary he would be also learning new age hair styling techniques that would put him on the path to a great future, From a barbershop earning meager salary to maybe a high end saloon with great salary and perks.
So I went ahead and gave him her number and asked him to call her, telling him all that i mentioned above. This was on my way to kerala. 2 weeks later when I got back I saw him still there, a month more later he is till there in his small barbershop. One day on my way back home I asked him what happened, and he said he lost the number because he lost his phone and sim. With my little experience in the field of acting I was able to realize that the kid is a very bad actor, maybe along with a course in hairstyling he should also go for an acting course(you know where to go ;) wink wink). anyway , not digressing, Today I went to his shop for a head massage ( yes!, Every time I feel angry or sad I go for one). The boy asked me about that job and slowly I realized that the reason why he did not call her was because he could not leave his colleague alone or his owner who gave him a job without finding a responsible and worthy replacement. In fact he was desperately looking for someone, he found a lot of people but no one was good enough. He asked me to tell the stylist that he is in a moral dilemma and would love to join as soon as he finds someone he can trust to replace him.
I was amazed! This Kid Ladies and gentlemen has fucking INTEGRITY, MORALITY and LOYALTY, traits I wouldnt expect in someone struggling everyday to live a life where he is the breadwinner of the family(did i forget to mention that? oh there is a reason for that), someone his age. These are traits I havent see in 97% people i have met. I respect him and I told him that he has done the right thing and I am proud that he took that decision and asked him to always do the same thing in the future.

PS: When i was on my way to tell him about the job I paused for some time thinking, will this boy in exchange for a good life ditch his colleague and his owner and leave them? Is it right on my part to put him in this dilemma? Then I thought- Every once in a while we will come across a situation wherein we have to make a choice, "the crossroads in life", Life takes a turn there and that decides the character of the person and these incidents define that person, no matter who you are or where you are, you will reach these "crossroads" and then the choice will be yours.
I thought god chose me to direct this boy to maybe the first crossroad in his life and thinking so I just did the job, God chose me for and I feel happy today I did it, I helped in the process of shaping someone`s personality and a great personality at that.